BJP, Allies Sweep Maharashtra Legislative Council Poll, Win 9 Of 11 Seats

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance - consisting of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and the NCP of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, in addition to the BJP - in Maharashtra has bounced back from a disappointing result in the general election by registering big wins in legislative council polls.

Three BJP leaders - Pankaja Munde, Parinay Phuke, and Yogesh Tilekar - claimed victory after securing 26 votes each; the threshold for victory is 23. Two from Mr Pawar's party - Rajesh Vitekar and Shivajirao Garje - were also declared winners, while Bhavana Gawli of the Shinde Sena also won.

The Mahayuti has, so far, claimed six of the nine seats it contested.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi - of the Congress, and Sena and NCP factions (broken after rebellions by Mr Shinde and Mr Pawar) led Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar - fielded three.

So far they have won only one seat, thanks to Pradnya Satav.

Voting was held this morning for a total of 11 seats.

There were 12 candidates fighting for those 11 seats.

Ahead of voting by the legislators, there was fear of horse-trading and poaching, prompting a round of resort politics that has become a standard feature of the Indian electoral landscape.

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The INDIA bloc had triggered this election after fielding one candidate more than it can elect, given its strength in the House. The Assembly - which has a maximum of 288 seats - has only 274 at this time, meaning a candidate needs 23 first-preference votes to get elected.

The Mahayuti has 201 MLAs and so 201 votes. It also counts on support from nine independent lawmakers, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has only 67 MLAs.

Six MLAs had declared themselves as neutral.